It’s a sunny warm day for the cycle to Cholsey station. Two changes at Reading and then Basingstoke.
The train from Basingstoke had ten carriages but only the front five going onto Poole. I made sure I got on the right half of the train.
Lots of interesting things to see on this trip including a view of St Mary’s Stadium, a view of Southampton Port, the New Forrest and various Dorset coastal towns.
All demonstrating some of the worst of British train travel.
Firstly not allowed on a train as I had the wrong ticket and then a change of heart and I was allowed on.
Then could not get on the train as it was totally rammed. But the train did not leave when it was meant to.
Suddenly people started streaming off the train. There was no guard, so the train could not depart.
Tried my luck, got on the train which now had some space. Eventually the train started moving, so got to Didcot in the end. No pictures as train too full.
A sunny but cool day for the trip on the far north line.
And then on to the Caledonian Sleeper at Inverness.
All very civilised, dinner (overpriced) and breakfast in the buffet car.
This is a very effective way to get to London, set off at 1632 from Thurso, arrive in 0800, 30 minutes earlier than expected. There were meant to be delays due to engineering works.
After leaving Euston station I encountered action by people dressed in orange tabards, who I believe were Just Stop Oil protestors. This did not affect me for two reasons. I was cycling and I was heading in the opposite direction to the blocked carriage way. Traffic stationary on the other side of the road. A minute later I spotted a single police car trying to make its way through the traffic. Then another few minutes on half a dozen police vans with sirens blaring. The vans were struggling to get through the stationary traffic so they crossed over to my side of the carriage way. All very exciting. Why did they not travel from the opposite direction in the first place ?
After the epic and throughly enjoyable train trip from the far north of Scotland to Porto I am going to continue to blog on less environmentally expensive transport. Looking at some of my trips and some big issues out there.
The trip to Porto. https://my-insight.org/2023/06/01/no-fly-zone/
Handily the Guardian Newspaper has published a comparison of CO2 emissions between plane and train (and car). See https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jun/30/carbon-emissions-from-uk-rail-travel-lower-than-previously-thought?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
The example the Guardian cited was the journey from London to Edinburgh, which is one part of the journey that I completed. 12.5kg for the train and 131kg for the plane, more than a factor of 10 difference. All the trains I travelled on we’re pretty well full, so maximum savings achieved.
From the article “The first result from RDG’s new carbon calculator confirms this figure is actually 12.5kg/CO2e – approximately half the previous estimation, and 10 times less carbon than car travel or 13 times less than the equivalent flight.” referring to trains. I am actually surprised how much better trains are than flying and cars.
Let’s answer the questions on the journey: was it practical, was it fun, did it reduce pollution? And ask some more questions. The journey started and finished in the far north of Scotland and did a small diversion to Bristol, and then travelled to Porto and back.
Flying from the UK is a lot quicker then traveling all the way by train. It turns out that getting to Portugal is particularly difficult. There appears to be very poor rail connections between Spain and Portugal, made worse by industry action on the trains in Portugal. But the trains linking London and Paris, Paris and Barcelona, Barcelona and Madrid are very rapid. Even London to Edinburgh is fast. There is no need to fly these routes. Being able to get from London to Barcelona or Paris to Edinburgh in a day is amazing.
Travelling by train to Bristol turns out to be more practical than flying from Scotland.
Yes, it certainly was. Traveling through France, Spain, Portugal, England, Scotland, watching the changing landscape, agriculture, seeing towns and cities, all from the comfort of a train, can’t be beaten. Meeting a whole load of different people, and chatting. Exploring cities, hunting food, this was a full on experience. Far superior to flying.
I was constrained by having to be in particular locations at the start and end of the journey, otherwise I would have spent more time on the journey. However I realised that I could have spent an extra day on the journey out. Planning and booking the travel and accommodation was challenging, but it all came together.
The short answer is yes!
Paris has undergone a big change, loads of dedicated cycle paths. It was a joy to cycle round, with sights and atmosphere all the way. Even the drivers were good. So Paris was the top place to cycle.
Second place goes to Barcelona. Some good cycle routes but not as expansive as Paris. Cycling turned out to be great way to see the city.
Madrid did not have the clear routes of Paris and Barcelona. Twice when I stopped at traffic lights , I found that a police car was lurking just behind to me on my left. When they clocked that I spotted the police car, they the drove off, through the red light. Almost as if they they were waiting to catch me out. Unfortunately I did not get time to properly explore Madrid, which was a shame.
Fourth London. Some good dedicated routes such as Euston to Waterloo, but Paddington to St Pancras not so good. Some good views from the bike in London.
Fifth, Edinburgh, the tram lines and confusing roads letting Edinburgh down. But good sights.
Porto is beautiful, but the cobbled streets and extremely aggressive drivers bring Porto down. So Porto I have to put in at sixth.
Cycling around all the cities was a great way to sightsee. Faster than walking or public transport. Cooler as well, even in sweltering Barcelona, cycling was pleasant. And you are in amongst it all.
I have not included Badajoz in the rankings , as it is far smaller than the other the large cities. But Badajoz was great to tour by bike. What a beautiful place to visit.
Hotels: best value Porto, followed by Badajoz. The cheapest hotels. Badajoz had the edge on quality but had a very loud wedding happening, which negated its plus points. Worst value Oxfordshire.
Food: very expensive in the UK. Good value in France, Portugal and Spain. Struggled to find good food in Porto. Late arrival in many of my destinations and traveling by train all day that often I did not eat enough.
Most picturesque train line: the far north line in Scotland, followed by Edinburgh to Inverness. Badajoz to Entroncamento was impressive.
Firsts: so many, first time in Badajoz, Barcelona, Madrid, Porto, first time crossing France and Spain by train – each in one day, first time cycling in Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Porto Badajoz. First time speaking in French to a Catalan on the TGV, first time attempting to speak Spanish in Spain. And so many more.
Best train- the TGV. Amazing train.
Tickets: ScotRail cheap club 50 ticket from the far north to Inverness and Edinburgh to the far north. Caledonian Sleeper Inverness to London, expensive. Local trains in SE and SW England, the routes are awkward if not going to or from London. Interrail Oxfordshire to Porto to Edinburgh with extra reservations but excluding Madrid to Barcelona. I had to get a bus from Porto to Valladolid. I will use the Interrail ticket again.
A few pictures of Edinburgh before the last leg of the journey.
The journey starts again from Haymarket
Arrived!
Cycled to the Tour d’Eiffel. Paris is really cycle friendly and it turns out that this is a really good way to see Paris. I was surprised by the tunnel with the street art.
No Window seat on the Eurostar means it’s not easy to get pictures from the train.
No seat booking but I am booked on the train. Stood up until we reached York.
Edinburgh Waverley
Not enough time in Madrid due to the late arrival and catching the 1030 train.
The next leg on the very fast Spanish service is not covered by Interrail. So had to pay for the ticket in advance on Trainline. But I had not realised that there is a baggage allowance. So I had to pay extra to get my luggage on the train.
Changed to TGV at Barcelona,
Not enough time in Madrid due to the late arrival and catching the 1030 train.
The next leg on the very fast Spanish service is not covered by Interrail. So had to pay for the ticket in advance on Trainline. But I had not realised that there is a baggage allowance. So I had to pay extra to get my luggage on the train.
Changed to TGV at Barcelona,
Insight 